RATP will test smart cameras to measure crowds in the subway in real time

RATP will test this new system from June until the end of the Paralympics in September to see if it makes the distribution of passengers on trains smoother.

For now it’s just a prototype, developed entirely within the RATP, but soon this new AI-powered camera system will be able to measure crowds in real time on a Line 14 Paris metro train. , car after car.

A camera box will be installed in the line 14 tunnel before arriving at Chatelet station in the northern direction of the line. He will be able to estimate the number of passengers in each train car. The technology is based on artificial intelligence, explains Gilles Thauzen, Innovation Director of the RATP Group: “The first algorithm will cut out the structure of the train. Doors, windows, etc. And the second algorithm at the window level will count the number of silhouettes in order to be able to determine the density of people and, therefore, the level of “wealth”. Then the information will be easily visible to travelers on the platform screen.

Color-coded based on crowd

“The level of wealth will be materialized simultaneously using a color code: green, orange or red, depending on the level of wealth in each of the cars, as well as through a series of silhouettes that will also allow people who are color blind to know what the information is.”– explains Gilles Thauzen.

The experiment will begin in mid-June and will last three months. RATP wants to extend it to other stations on line 14 and RER B to study whether it would make the platforms smoother and better harmonize the distribution of passengers on trains.